Incarnate Blog Tour

Welcome to the INCARNATE Theater Treasure Hunt!

This week, 45 bloggers are celebrating the release of INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows by participating in a treasure hunt with clues, activities, and lots of prizes including signed books and handknit fingerless mitts. You've reached an ACTIVITY blog, which means on this page, you can gain extra entries for Jodi's grand prize drawing by completing my activity and filling out the accompanying form. Then head to the next activity for more INCARNATE fun! There are 19 INCARNATE activities around. The more you do, the better your chances of winning the grand prize.

For more information on the INCARNATE Theater Treasure Hunt, check out Jodi's post.

 And now, just for you . . . . Knitty Picture!

My Activity:

Two Truths and a Lie. The way this works is there are three statements about Jodi Meadows bellow. Two of them are true (or relatively true), and one of them is completely false. You're job is to decide which is the "lie." If you need some help, go explore around Jodi's website for a few minutes. That should help you. :] Rest assured: guessing the correct answer is not required to get your points for this activity.

Ready?

1. Jodi is the Queen of Ferrets.

2. If Jodi were in a fairy tale, she would be Rumpelstiltskin, so she could spin straw into gold.

3. The first novel Jodi ever wrote was about an elephant named Walnut. No one would buy it unless she changed his name to Peanut. This is why her debut book is Incarnate instead.

To enter, you MUST COMMENT with your choice. You MUST ALSO fill out the following form. Remember, you must do both to get your extra points!

So, which is the "lie?"

Ready for more activity bloggers? 

Mission To Read

Fictitious Musings

A Backwards Story

Thanks for stopping by! Good luck . :]

Snow Day and Bubbles

Apparently Mother Nature heard us complaining about the lack of snow last month, and so she's dumping it on us now. She's like an exasperated mother finally giving in to her pestering children. "Fine! Have snow! Are you happy now?"

Yes. Yes we are. There's over a foot on the ground right now, most of which was dumped on us yesterday, and we're supposed to get another nine inches today. Universities and public schools alike are closed.

Also, did you all notice all the blocked sites yesterday? How did I not know about this bill until I tried to get on Wikipedia? I'm so glad the internet took a stand like that and helped raise awareness, because I had absolutely no idea anything like this was going on. Either I live in a bubble or this really hasn't been talked about much among news sources. I don't know, but I really, really, really hope that it doesn't pass. Thank you to all you bloggers and people who helped me learn about this!

If you are having a snow day too, I hope you enjoy it. I really should be studying, but I'm going to go sledding instead. Then I'll study. I swear. So, go have your fun! (Unless you are one of those people bundled up in blankets and sitting in front of the fire, cursing January and winter and snow. In that case, have a big cup of hot chocolate. With marshmallows! You'll feel better.)

Imaginary Girls Giveaway

Have you read Nova Ren Suma's Imaginary Girls yet? It's a story about sisters, but it's twisted and creepy and unlike any book I've read. And I'd like to give you a copy.

Giveaway Details:

I am giving away a signed copy of Imaginary Girls and a signed Imaginary Girls bookmark.

To Enter:

Follow my blog and leave me a comment with your e-mail address, so I can contact you if you win.

By entering you are confirming that you are either 13 or older, or you have a parent's permission to enter.

Extra Entries?

Do you REALLY want to win this? I'll give you extra entries for sharing about this giveaway. Blog about it, tweet, facebook, etc. Put each extra entry into a separate comment. (I am using a random number generator to pick the winner, so if you put your extra entries into the same comment they won't be counted.)

The giveaway will run until January 31st. I will pick a winner on February 1st.

Good luck!

**Edit: Oops, I didn't specify if this was US or international. So I'm making it international. Thanks for entering! :] **

A Bit of Friday Brilliance

I was just thinking to myself about how writing is like babysitting small children.

This is either going to be brilliant or brilliantly awful, but either way, I'm sharing!

So, pretend you're babysitting. One or more of the children are in diapers.

You're the babysitter, so you play around with the kids. Only you can't play on the same level they play, because you have to worry about things like is this game safe? while they run  around the house and hit each other with toy swords. Do you stop the fun, or let the potentially dangerous situation continue?

Sometimes the game the kids make up doesn't make sense, or has some major flaws you see and they don't. You go along anyway.

This is like the first draft. You ignore the stuff that doesn't work, because it seems to work for now. Sometimes it's easier to let the children run around and hit each other with plastic, because you don't wan to deal with making them stop and do something different.

Now we get to the diapers. Sometimes it's hard to tell when those things need to be changed. Is that smell from the child or something else? Sometimes it's hard to tell that your story stinks. It can be hard to tell when it's time to change something.

If the kid is older and halfway between diapers and being potty-trained, sometimes changing the diaper is a big ordeal. They don't want to be changed, gosh darn it! They cry, and run away, and you have to hold them down and force a new diaper on them. It's not always easy to force your story to change, even if it stinks.

There is some good news to my whole weird metaphor. Because the kids? Adorable. Don't you feel so rewarded when the kids hug you goodbye or hello? When they beg their parents to let you come play again?

When you get that check at the end of the night?

Maybe writing doesn't always end with hugs and money, but it can be incredibly rewarding. I love that feeling when I've worked long and hard on something, and when it's done, I know that it's one of my best stories ever. It's not the best story in the world, but I made it. And it doesn't completely suck. I've changed the poopy diapers and I took away that darn plastic sword. Now I have the warm fuzzy feeling of a knee-high hug from a cute little child. Can it be stressful? Yes. Sometimes you want to give up and lock the terrors in their rooms? Definitely. But it's worth it working through it.

P.S. I am actually a pretty strict babysitter. There is no running and hitting with plastic swords on my watch.

The Way We Fall

Trailer for: The Way We Fall, by Megan Crewe, to be released Jan 24/12. Check out her blog for more info on the book. There was a contest connected with sharing the trailer, but I think it's actually too late to enter now. (Insert sad face here.)

I liked the trailer, so I'm sharing it anyway! Everything I've seen about this book so far makes me want to read it. I think this trailer is actually pretty well done - usually I don't like book trailers much. What do you think? Do you want to read The Way We Fall? 

Happy Tuesday!

This is the song that's playing on repeat in my head:

Happy Tuesday!

Hello 6:40 a.m.

This is the last non-school night of Christmas Break. Sigh. Tomorrow is the last morning of sleeping in, and tonight the last night of staying up late. After tomorrow, my afternoons and evenings will be filled with homework, and trying to fit in those extra-curriculars that looks so good on vet school applications. Goodbye reading books for enjoyment, hello textbooks.

But I shouldn't complain, because I'm excited. I have my new (Expensive. Oh, why so expensive?) textbooks all lined up on my shelf. I have my schedule tacked to my bulletin board, and I actually washed my backpack. It's so clean it's kind of crazy. I can't wait to come home from school spouting random information and science facts no one around me cares about.

But oh, 6:40 a.m., you're looming so near in my future.

Sleeping Beauty, Rape, and Cannibalism, oh my!

I'm working on a Sleeping Beauty retelling, so I though I'd share an early version of Sleeping Beauty. Here goes:

When a great lord has a baby daughter, he brings together wise men and astrologers to foresee her future. These men conclude that Talia will be put in great danger by a splinter of flax. So, of course, the lord bans flax.

Talia grows up into a beautiful young woman. She sees an old woman spinning flax and is intrigued, having never seen anything like this before. She begs to try, but a splinter of flax goes under her nail and she drops down dead. The old woman runs away. (Suspicious? Hmm.)

Talia's father is so distressed that he can't even bury his daughter. He instead has her dressed in beautiful clothes, places her in a country estate, and abandons the estate forever. (This is a good plan - he probably thought it would start to smell.)

Along comes a king. He's hunting in the forest, stumbles upon this estate, and finds the place empty except for Talia. She's very beautiful and the king finds himself lusting for her, so he tries to wake her and he can not. So he gathers her up and takes her to a bed, and rapes her.

(That's right - there's no true love's kiss here. Our sleeping beauty is raped.)

The king then returns to his own kingdom and forgets about the incident.

Meanwhile, Talia is asleep and not dead. She becomes pregnant, and after nine months gives birth to a girl and a boy. While the infants are trying to nurse, one mistakes her finger for her breast and sucks out the piece of flax. Talia promptly awakes and is confused about how the babies got there, but she loves them anyway. She names them Sun and Moon, and nice fairies attend to her, bringing food and drink. (Why doesn't she go home? This seems like a good time to leave the empty estate, and go find that loving father. She doesn't.)

Then one day, the King remembered Talia and thought to himself, I will see if she is still there, so I can rape her again. He says he is going hunting, and journeys back to the country estate. He is overjoyed to find Talia awake and meet the two toddlers. (I actually think this would have been an "Oh crap" situation, not a "Yay! My victim is awake!" kind of thing.) They talk, and find themselves falling in love.

(Um. No comment.)

The king finally decides to go home to his wife. He's so besotted with his babes that he says their names in his sleep. His wife is jealous, and sends someone out to collect the children. She then gives them to the cook to bake for dinner.

The cook is horrified, so he gives the babies to his wife and instead butchers two baby lambs. (I like the cook.)

The queen feeds the lambs to her husband. The queen tells him that his is eating what is his own. He doesn't understand her, and storms out angrily.

The queen sends for Talia. She is going to boil her in a large pot for being a whore. Talia stalls, taking off her pretty clothes first. The king comes in before she's put in the pot and is enraged, and has his wife boiled instead.

The cook brings forth the babes he saved, and together Talia and the king live long and happy lives.

This is summarised from the version of "Sun, Moon, and Talia" here, where the last line is: "The person who is favored by fortune has good luck even while sleeping." No, really. It says that.

I think it should end:

Talia explains to the queen that she was raped. "Oh, my filthy husband!" exclaims the queen. The king walks in and together, Talia and the queen boil him in the pot.

The End.

Pain, Needles, and Other Uncomfortable Things

I hate needles. Okay, so maybe I don't hate the needle itself. Though I do hate what I associate with needles: pain.

I'm a huge wimp. And a bit of a scardey-cat. When I had to get shots in Jr. High - I kid you not - I had to be restrained on the table. To make matters worse I tensed my arm, so the nurse had to work the needle through the muscle. This makes getting a shot even more painful, and your arm hurts for days afterwords.

This is why I never got my ears pierced, even though I love earrings - especially the dangleykind. I always get envious when I'm helping someone pick out earrings - so pretty! I want!

I'm a bit of a hypocrite about this. I don't like needles being used on me, but I am fine inflicting this torture upon other creatures. In my 4-H days I assisted with tattooing rabbits. This involved piercing the rabbit's ear with a series of letters and numbers made up of needles. I've ear-tagged guinea pigs - like a human earring, only it's a permanent and used for identification.

But today, I did it. I overcame a fear:

I got my ears pierced.

Why? Because if my ten-year-old friend can do it, by golly, I can, too!

And it wasn't that bad. It was slightly uncomfortable, not quite as bad as a pinch, definitely not the mind-numbing pain I was expecting.

And in six months, right around my birthday, I get to wear pretty dangley earrings!

Just look how exciting 2012 is already. I've overcome a fear, and only three days in.

Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR! There are so many awesome releases this year. I hope your 2012 is filled with many good books, awesome adventures, and general goodness!